Crystal Palace were a joy to watch under Patrick Vieira last season in what was the Frenchman’s maiden campaign at Selhurst Park.
The high intensity style was a breath of fresh air after fans endured the stale nature of football under Roy Hodgson, as the likes of Conor Gallagher set the tone with his dogged pressing and Wilfried Zaha enjoyed his best goalscoring season yet.
However, Vieira has not built on that campaign, with his style of play arguably regressing.
In truth, the departure of Gallagher has been a huge factor in that, but a report from the Guardian in 2020 suggests Crystal Palace were warned about the 46-year-old.
What’s the story?
Well, a detailed analysis of what went wrong for Vieira at OGC Nice was written by Adam White and Eric Devin in December 2020.
After a successful campaign in his first year at the Ligue 1 outfit, which ended in a seventh place finish, Vieira then guided OGC Nice to fifth in what was a shortened season due to the global pandemic.
However, things then fell apart, with the Frenchman’s tactical identify – or lack of – coming under the spotlight.
In the Guardian, White and Devin wrote: “Nice were never truly convincing. Their defence, though solid, relied too often on the heroics of keeper Walter Benítez, and Vieira jumped from one formation to the next seemingly at random. Devoid of cohesion and creativity, Nice struggled to fashion chances for poacher Dolberg. Vieira’s philosophy was close to indecipherable.”
Swap Benítez for Vicente Guaita and Dolberg for Odsonne Edouard, and there are vast similarities between that section of the Guardian‘s piece and the current situation at Crystal Palace.
Although Vieira’s backline is pretty strong, holding in-form sides such as Manchester United, Newcastle and Brighton to just one goal each recently, the south Londoners are yet to score a Premier League goal from open play in 2023.
Crystal Palace need to back Vieira
Despite some Crystal Palace fans feeling as if the side hasn’t progressed under Vieira this season, he has not exactly been backed well since his first summer in charge.
The squad is still crying out for an effective right-back, while the midfield department has also been allowed to become stale since Gallagher left.
With all due respect, the fact Jeffrey Schlupp starts in central midfield on a weekly basis speaks volumes about the lack of quality options.
Hopefully, Vieira is backed this summer, or Crystal Palace fans shouldn’t expect too much to change tactically next season.
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